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Miss Hattisburg – After winning his home debut on the Rocks, App State Football Heads South held the Sun Belt Conference Overer at the Mississippi Stadium, with the same nickname.
The Climbers are one of two Suns Belt teams in non-league games 2-0 to two weeks, facing Miss South (1-1) at MM Roberts Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (CT), a fan of the Golden Eagles.
Leaded by first-year head coach Charles Huff, who won the Suns Belt title last season at Marshall and brought many of his Thunder Dogs players to his new location, Southern Miss is starting the season for the third straight home game. The Golden Eagles led 14-13 in the half-time loss to Mississippi State and beat nearby FCS program Jackson State (2024 HBCU National Championship) 38-20 in the half-time to gain an advantage 17-10.
Like Miss South, App State has performed poorly so far. A strong first-half finale against Charlotte in the opener gave the climbers a 34-11 victory, who took a 14-0 lead against FCS Lindenwood before escaping their statistical dominance with a 20-13 victory.
“The first thing I did that night was that I went back to every exercise and watched,” said App State head coach Dowell Loggains. “I probably slept about 45 minutes that night, just because you won the game, you were 2-0, but how you play and how you look, because it might be much better.
“So, OK, OK, let's look back at the practice. Let's see where we need to improve. Did we do what we guided? Do we put them where we need to put them in? Are we playing the right people? You look at everything.”
With a 0-2 victory, App State ranked in the top 20 in the national offense (544.5 yards per game) and total defense (16th yards per game allowed per game) in 217.0 yards).
There is an offensive balance, with Dalton Stroman, Jaden Barnes and Izayah Cummings pulling a big boost from AJ Swann's pass, while Rashod Dubinion is a powerful, productive leader. Defensively, stopping running and pressure quarterbacks lead to limited output on offense, even if Linden Wood scored a touchdown when App State failed to recover forced stumbles near the goal line, while the Lions would play a touchdown on the fourth down, hail Mary-style guy.
Four lost gropings (including the moments of two happenings that occurred before the app state receiver crossed the end zone), an interception and unfortunate kick kick made the first two games more competitive than needed. Challenges increase this weekend, with less margins in errors and requiring precise execution.
“We told the team to enjoy this victory after the game, but to understand what the practice on Monday looks like and what this week looks like because that's not good enough in all three stages. It can be better, and it needs to be better,” Login said.
Seven members of the App National Defense, including six defensive informants, contributed in the sack category through two games, while 16 defenders participated in the tackle behind the scrimmage line.
Miss South, like Charlotte, is a double threat quarterback, a familiar name.
Braylon Braxton was selected as Suns Belt's pre-season player of the year after throwing 1,624 yards, rushing for 610 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2024 at Marshall. Five of the touchdowns won 52-37 at home in a 52-37 win over App State, with three and two touchdowns in his eight touchdowns and two touchdowns, two touchdowns in two touchdowns and two touchdowns and 140 touchdowns over a 140-year period.
This year, Braxton worked with former Arkansas chief coach Blake Anderson as offensive coordinator, with a total of 406 pass yards, five touchdowns and one interception while completing 66.7% of the shots. He is the second leading stormtrooper behind Mississippi State's transfer Jeffery Pittman, and so far Braxton's top two receivers are two Marshall transfers: Carl Chester and Elijah Metcalf.
“They play the way they play, created space,” Login said. “Miss South, they created space at speed. It will be the fastest team we've ever been on. We'll practice a little different and do some good things to get the speed of the game because we'll feel different from the speed of the past two opponents. They run well and when you create it with space, you have to solve it well.”